Editorial: Police efforts engaging Saginaw community showing payoff

Michigan State Police Lt. Brian Cole autographs a card for Tamarionna Heart, 5, on Fulton on Saginaw's East Side in June during the "One Week, One Street" project.

The police have your back, and it seems to be working.

We commend the efforts of the law enforcement community in Saginaw, including — perhaps especially — the Michigan State Police for organizing proactive efforts like the Saginaw Public Safety Focus Group that met last week.

The 26 troopers assigned to the city last year, working alongside Saginaw Police Department officers, resulted in 316 felony arrests and 35 seized firearms. Their efforts helped Saginaw see a 16-percent drop in crime.

That’s all evidence of a good job by both Saginaw police officers and the troopers assigned here. But that’s not all the kudos due.

We haven’t hesitated to call out as civic duty the responsibility of witnesses or citizens who may “know something” to clue in authorities to what they know, to let the police in on what they may have seen.

Today we commend those citizens for doing the right thing, while we also give a shout out to those agencies for their work engaging the people of Saginaw early and often to make such a difference.

The numbers don’t lie. Ultimately the most important gear in Saginaw’s public safety drivetrain is you.

The city is finally making headway here because of you. More of you are stepping up. More of you are becoming engaged in the efforts of law enforcement. More of you are feeling empowered in Saginaw’s battle against crime.

And the reason for that empowerment comes full circle back to the police agencies involved. Policing can’t be successful when it’s just about reacting to crime. Saginaw’s previous police staffing levels have proven that. Once again the numbers don’t lie.

Today, the extra patrols we get from the state allow officers in both departments to reach out to you, to empower you and to help you help them make the community a safer place.

Well done, Saginaw. Let’s continue the past few months of public safety success and make 2014 a benchmark year.